IUWBB: Hoosiers top Florida, 83-64

Indiana stayed perfect with a 83-64 win over Florida on Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Junior Brenna Wise led the Hoosiers (4-0) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Otherwise, it was balanced scoring for the Hoosiers, who also had Jaelynn Penn (13 points), Kym Royster (13), Grace Berger (11), and Aleksa Gulbe (10) in double figures. Bendu Yeaney and Ali Patberg each had nine.

Florida (0-5) held a 19-17 lead after one quarter, helped along by eight points from junior guard Delicia Washington. Washington was familiar to the Hoosier coaching staff, who watched the then-freshman guard score 31 points in IU’s 102-88 win in 2016-17.

In the second quarter, the Hoosiers received some contributions for their freshman class. Aleksa Gulbe — playing extended minutes with sophomore forward Linsey Marchese unavailable — hit a corner 3-pointer with 8:04 left in the quarter to give the Hoosiers a 24-22 lead. Gulbe also pulled down a couple key rebounds and blocked a shot.

Grace Berger, who has struggled with her shot early this season, aggressively drove the paint for a score, then hit a corner 3-pointer to make it 29-24 for the Hoosiers. She had seven first-half points.

Florida eventually tied it at 31-all, but IU closed the second period on an 8-2 run and went into the locker room up 39-33. The Hoosiers hit 10-of-17 shots from the floor in the period, taking a nearly 52 percent success rate into the break. Sophomore Jaelynn Penn led the Hoosiers with eight points.

The Hoosiers kept things rolling in the third, starting with a 3-pointer on their first possession from Brenna Wise. Wise then got to the free throw line for three free throws and made all of them. Already in the bonus with 7:15 left in the quarter, Ali Patberg got two more from the charity stripe to make it 47-37.

IU went on to outscore the Gators, 23-13, in the third quarter, heading into the fourth with a 62-46 lead.

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17 comments

Unbelievable TEAM effort today.
Last few years the two IU super-stars (and they were) had to be counted on to win the game.
This team is totally different. Who has ever heard of a team being two points short of having SEVEN players in double figures?
I was nervous after the first three games, because it didn’t appear to that this team was shooting very well. That all changed today.
What a great day to follow the lady Hoosiers!

Amen.
I also had some concerns over how they had been shooting, especially with the 2nd Period doldrums the last two or three games. When we left the 1st Period without any type of lead, I was worried that the game would get away from us if we had the same types of scoring droughts. Luckily, the hard working women on our team found their confidence and drilled down some amazing shots.
Love what we saw from Gulbe and Berger this game.
MikeC and scwartzie – probably will not beat you to the stands OnSunday, but hope to see both of you there!

Good effort and for the most part good execution. I really liked the way we attacked the zone and battled on the boards. Another solid game by freshman Aleksa Gulbe with 10 points, 4 rebounds & 2 blocks in 20 minutes on the court. She has very good basketball savvy , is not afraid to be physical, and has a great shooting stroke.
See you all on Sunday!

As NatHillIV said, it was finally good to see us shoot well from the floor. In the first 3 games, I was beginning to wonder if we were a good shooting team but, today was more like it! Hope this continues. 50% from the floor today. Also outrebounded Florida 39-30, very good job on the boards. The game was basically won at the free throw line as we went 15 for 20 and they only hit 4 of 12. Our continually driving the ball to the basket caused their fouls and our execution at the line was instrumental to the win. Hitting 8 of 13 threes was huge, as mentioned before, our shooting hopefully will continue to improve. Our balance which I mentioned a couple of games ago was terrific, as opposed to last year’s team which NatHillIV mentioned. This is going to be a real strength on this year’s team. There were so many positives in this game, you absolutely never knew who was going to score next for IU which is great! The one thing which is still a little concerning is that Bendu is still struggling form the floor going 4 for 12. Knowing she had a lot of time off due to injury during preseason practice, I am sure she will get it going soon as she gets into better shape. Her all around game other than her shooting has been great, defense , rebounding and assists has been solid to say the least. She had a couple of spectacular blocked shots today. Bvance, always good to talk to you before the game, see you Sunday. Have a great holiday today! One other thing, really surprised at yesterday’s crowd, over 3,300. I thought we would be down a little because of the weird start time but, the turnout was nice for a 2 pm game on a Wednesday. Go Hoosiers!!

swartzie, good comment on Gulbe, she is going to be HUGE for us this year as she gets acclimated to the American game. She is so solid fundamentally as most foreign players are. Big body and very athletic, what more could you ask?I love her game! Still haven’t heard this year yet from the “great” IU women’s critic we all know (?) and love, he is probably waiting for a defeat so he can jump aboard and blast our coach and the program?

I agree with most everything thats already been said. Its impressive how they are now starting to work as a team, finding each other who is open at the time. Gulbe is a great addition , a needed addition for this team. Also good to see Berger finding her confidence and adding to the balance that this team will have. I was a little surprised that we pulled away as we did in the 4th and by that much. When we go on the road against Wake Forrest and UCLA we will get a better idea how good we can be. BTW Brenna’s free throw shooting is no fluke , she had several long FT strings at Pitt. Go Hoosiers!

You are spot on Steve W. Brenna converted 90% of her free throws her last season at Pitt. Gulbe (80%) also has a track record of being very good at the line and I’m confident that Ali Patberg will be closing in on 80% by the end of the season.

Though IU ladies may have not played against the best early the elevation of quality recruits could be starting to show. Athletically, players can do a multitude of things. Dependable ft shooting, making plays, and points coming from different players and places unlike in past. Plus, they just don’t chuck up 3 pointers without trying to run plays to get good shots. Of course T.M. teams have to play defense. As competition increases more will be learned where IU ladies basketball is at. However, in the very near future (this season plus two or three more) IU lady basketball may be witnessing a great coach and lady basketball program in the process of becoming the next elite lady basketball program. (a highly rated big girl recruit to go along with what is already in program or is coming in needed as all teams want or need them.

To the IU fan and specifically to the die-hard womens basketball fan this is an exciting time for this womens program. Last years team the opposing defenses would concentrate heavily on Buss and Cahill and if successful could slow us down, sure Penn and Yeaney would slip thru and get some points but the starting five had to basically play most of the way tiring by the minute, but this years team, who will teams focus on . We are so balanced it will be difficult to double team any one person and benefit from doing that. And as T mentions we have a big coming next year that could really make a difference with all she can do. A definite upswing for the program. IU hasnt been thought of in the polls but I woudnt be surprised if we start receiving some pts in the near future.

Mike c– No there are some games there presented by espn plus and some by espn3, some on the ACC some on the SEC NETWORK. I think espn plus gives a 7 day trial but on the other networks you should be able to watch at that site free live and on demand. I think the espnplus is $4.99 a month.